For day 2, our plan was to visit an island, and Hydra was the recommended choice for a day trip from Athens.  Hydra is pronounced “Ee-dra”, just like “Gyro” is really pronounced “ee-rho,” and “typically” is actually pronounced “ee-pically.”  After an early start to catch our connections, we arrived on Hydra at about 10 AM to be confronted with this picturesque view.

Hydra is a fairly small island – over 90% of the population lives in this main town.  There are no motorized vehicles except for a few garbage trucks.  Somehow, we managed to encounter this truck about four times in the first hour, but after that the lack of traffic noises was very noticeable.  Instead, you encountered “parking lots” like the one in the blog’s banner image and this one.

Hydra, even more than most Greek towns, is also full of cats.  I think their intended purpose is to deal with vermin, but these guys seemed mostly interested in sleeping under tables at the waterfront tavernas.

Interesting trivia note: Leonard Cohen wrote “Bird on a Wire” while living on Hydra.  Probably not about this exact bird, but possibly this wire!

After exploring the main town for a bit, we walked down the coast to a nearby fishing village, and then decided to come back via the “high road” through town above the water.  And by “high road,” we mean “just keep attempting to go east through tiny cracks between houses.”  Astonishingly, this actually worked, despite the fact that this is what a “street” on Hydra usually looks like.

Eventually it was time for dinner, so we went back to the fishing village for a lovely meal of grilled red mullets (heads still attached) and octopus while sitting at a table overlooking the ocean.  Then it was time for another sunset!

Finally, back to Athens.

Statistics:

• Modes of Transportation used: Subway, Hydrofoil, Boat
• Cumulative Total: 5
• Geocaches Found: 1
• Meals Containing Feta: 2
• Free stuff: After-dinner fruit